There's a place where artists can create whatever they want, using the most advanced equipment on the planet. It's in San Francisco (of course). In a warehouse (of course).

Inside Instructables' Kooky, Creative Warehouse Wondershop

Inside Instructables' Kooky, Creative Warehouse Wondershop

The warehouse doesn't look like much. It is a graying building on San Francisco's Pier 9. Low-slung, narrow. But inside, there is magic taking place. Metalsmiths and furniture makers, Burning Man veterans, chefs, and genetic tinkerers spin out creations on $100,000-plus machines that parade out over the bay, bolt by blade. These artists in residence have made 3D-printed cameras, topographic-map carpets, Rube Goldberg–style machines, recipes using insect flour, and plywood that folds like paper.

They can do this because three years ago, Autodesk, a leader in computer-aided design software, bought Instructables, a website where members share plans for their DIY projects. Eric Wilhelm, a young MIT mechanical engineering Ph.D. and kite surfer, is the founder of Instructables (He's one of our 25 Makers Reinventing the American Dream). One thing he wanted from the Autodesk deal was a test lab for innovation. "We invite artists who have never touched these machines before," he says. "We train them, but they're going to break the machines in creative and productive ways." The facility ostensibly helps Autodesk develop user-friendly software tools, but it's easy to detect a secret agenda. The revamped warehouse hosts the Instructables staff as well as the artist-in-residence program—and Wilhelm's desk, from which he schemes to encourage the world to create, is just steps away from his dream workshop.

Artist: Ben Cowden

Artist: Ben Cowden

Project: The Manhattan Project Cocktail Maker

Materials: Stainless Steel, ABS Plastic, Glass, Booze

Tools: Omax Waterjet, Objet 3D Printer, Metalworking Tools

Ben Cowden's hand-cranked sculpture makes a classic cocktail. Turn the handle and the gears engage, smoothly measuring, pouring, and mixing just the right amount of bourbon, vermouth, and bitters to create a perfect Manhattan. "I made it purely mechanical instead of using microcontrollers because I like people to see how it works," says Cowden, who used a computer-controlled waterjet cutter to mill the metal parts, and a 3D printer for the plastic components. When the bell chimes, your drink is ready.